Just want to say that I saw a ridiculous and completely false story that is being promo’d to run at 11pm about Stan Jester. Here are the facts:

(1) Stan has had a national background check. It was completed in December of last year and the school district knows this. It is published on his website. You can see for yourself that Stan has NO criminal record in Georgia or any other state.. You can view all emails, background checks, etc. at this link:

(2) The DeKalb County Police Chief wrote a memo describing how when doing Stan’s background check they contacted the GBI to make sure they were doing the proper check. Further in the memo, the police chief describes how background checks query the National Fingerprint File (NFF). He further describes how if Stan had a record in another state, his report would have indicated that criminal information was available.

(3) Stan is the only Board member who has made his national background check available for the public to see.

(4) There is NO requirement in law or policy that requires Stan, or any board member, to submit to a background check by the school district or at all. Stan has gone above and beyond in the spirit of transparency and cooperation.

(5) Stan had the national background check officially disseminated pursuant to law from the DCPD to the school district.

(6) Because the school system has continued to refuse Stan access to his office, county email, official BOE calendar, online documents, denied him his legal compensation, and refused to register him for state mandated board training, he retained counsel.

(7) It is interesting that now, the school district is once again using the media in an attempt to embarrass and discredit Stan. The narrative that they are perpetuating is a pure falsehood They should be ashamed of themselves. They have been presented with a demand to remedy their illegal treatment of Stan. I do hope that they do so.”

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About dekalbschoolwatch

Hosting a dialogue among parents, educators and community members focused on improving our schools and providing a quality, equitable education for each of our nearly 100,000 students. ~ "ipsa scientia potestas est" ~ "Knowledge itself is power"

Keeping the news in context – below is the local news line-up we had to sit through before they got to the Big Story about Stan having the DeKalb County Police, GBI and Dunwoody Police do his background check rather than the DCSS HR staff >>

• A preacher held up large poster photos of a black police officer in Morrow who was naked from the waist down, knocked out on a bed at the police retreat with the words, “Help Me” written across his behind.

• The state of Utah has approved using firing squads for death penalties.

• A man was mowed down by an SUV while walking down a sidewalk. The SUV drove off leaving the man to die. The driver later turned herself in.

• A man is accused of planting explosives in a Roswell park. Says he did it because he’s a patriot.

• A middle-schooler says an adult woman pried open the school bus doors, boarded the bus and attacked her.

• Two guys who work for the watershed department were found to have stolen hundreds of pieces of taxpayer-funded equipment and sold them for over $60,000 — as scrap.

• Rev. Creflo Dollar of the World (make that ‘Money’) Changers Church insists he needs a $65 million Gulfstream G650 private jet in order to deliver food to the poor around the world. Worse, some followers say they agree the jet is needed.

• And someone has now invented powdered alcohol for us all to enjoy while we endure the local newscasts.

I don’t believe much I hear in newscasts anymore. Years ago I walked in the Avon 3 Day walk for breast cancer. We ended up staying unexpectedly at, I think, Redan High School on mats instead of camping, due to torrential rain. Jovita Moore (also of Channel 2 “Action” News) reported that all of these women were naked in the boys locker room when the entire football team came in to shower. That was not true in any way. The football team was stopped in the parking lot when the bus pulled up and told they couldn’t use the locker rooms until the women finished. I think some of the boys punked Jovita and told her they saw all these naked ladies and she believed them. They surely had a good laugh when she breathlessly reported the big news! I called to tell the station that I was there and it was in no way true. I was rudely told they stand behind Jovita’s report.

In 1985, when baby Rachel Lauren Stockman was just a few days old, The Daily News newspaper reported that baby Rachel would be attending PRIVATE schools. Here is an excerpt from a May 8, 1985 article in the “Daily News” by Robert Walters titled “Stockman’s little bundle of woe”:

WASHINGTON (NEA) – Something truly terrible has just happened to Office of Management and Budget Director David A. Stockman: His wife, Jennifer, has given birth to the couple’s first child. For most people, the birth of a healthy baby (in this case, a girl named Rachel Lauren Stockman) would be an occassion for rejoicing – but Stockman isn’t like most people…..

…..Like many “upwardly mobile” Washington parents, the Stockmans are likely to begin sending their daughter to nursery school when she’s 4 – at a cost of almost $5,000 annually. If she remains in a private school through the 12th grade, her parents will pay $10,000 per year in the upper grades. College costs will be far higher – almost $50,000 annually.

Mrs. Stockman is a professional working woman who has a choice of two alternatives to provide home care for her child – she can hire a babysitter or withdraw from the job market until Rachel Lauren is old enough to care for herself. The foregone income or cash outlays will total $100,000 to $500,000.”

Stan is no hero in this. With all the legitimate concerns about the DeKalb schools, he has chosen to get into a petty and meaningless fight about an issue that has absolutely zero impact on student achievement, zero impact on the budget, zero impact on anything. Even if he is 100% in the right about the issue, it is a stupid and distracting fight that does nothing to improve the quality of our schools. The fact that he didn’t have the wisdom to pick his battles more wisely tells me that even if he were suddenly granted all the access he is supposed to have, he wouldn’t be particularly effective.

This is becoming a bullying issue. The powers that be in the DCSD are pushing hard against those they perceive as not going along with their plans – those who question – those who think freely, outside the ‘box’ are being harassed in the open media – and the media is complicit in this attack. We are in the middle of a very important superintendent search and the gloves are off – well, at least on one side of the arena.

This episode has been illustrative of the problems the school district causes itself within the community. First they insisted there was a policy and law that simply wasn’t there. When that didn’t stick, rather than admit to this and showing modern adaptability, they invented new reasons that I should comply. This whole exercise has been about control. It is a parable for how DCSD treats communities, schools, and even teachers.

Another shame is that after 32 years, they have finally forced Diana Davis in her mid 50’s to retire. They have only been trying to pressure her into quiting for at least the last 20. For years, I have seen her and some of the other more talented white female reporters trying to battle menapause in the gym. Now you see they have the hopeless one- step home coloring bottle blonde they are grooming for when they push out Karen Minter. At least they have started to realize Don Farmers son can’t even read the TelePrompter ( did he graduate from Dekalb Schools).

Back to Stan the hypocracy must be pointed out that Melvin appointed convicted Felon and race baiter John Evans to the superintendent search. Can’t wait for this new corruption probe that Mr. May appointed to hop skip right over through the New Birth Crowd, and gather up all those not only in county government but the school friends and family.

Anyone who finds it necessary to list which church they attend on a job application, or a fraternity or Soriety which states membership is based on being African American or a descendant of slaves on their job application, will find their job application at the back of the pile when I hire. I only look for real qualifications, like legitimate honor society memberships and leadership positions. Not Sisters of the pink and Green.

Margie,
Stan didn’t pick this battle. Someone within the administration did. It may or may not be stupid, but the fact the administration is getting the media to cover it reveals their agenda.

I believe Stan and Nancy when they say they are not the ones contacting the media. When having to decide whom to believe, I will choose the people who have not publicly lied in the past instead of the ones who have.

Thank you, Kirk! We intended to say the same thing, but today has been an exceptionally busy day and generally paying jobs have to come before volunteer activities. Stan is being bullied by Melvin Johnson and the rest of the board is complicit. Shame on them for toadying to the class bully (Melvin)!

No other board member, besides Stan, has posted the results of their background check. Why? People with nothing to hide would post their background checks. There must be some very questionable stuff in the backgrounds of the other board members.

Quite frankly, given DeKalb County Schools’ dismal track record in background checks (even one child abuser hired is one too many!) we would not let DCS do our background checks, either. Not only has DCS hired child abusers they also have hired people who have lied about their educational background and financial solvency. Former superintendent Cheryl Howell Atkinson is a good example. She lied on her DCS application for employment — about things that were very easy for DeKalb School Watch to find, but that DCS was unable to find.

Can Melvin Johnson or someone at the Dekalb County School System quote specifically any law, formal policy, or any other similar document that states specifically just what the procedures are regarding fingerprinting requirements for an elected member of the School Board? What about for an administrator? What about for a teacher? These questions need to be answered – no answers like “this is the way we have been doing it” or “this is past practice” or “this is the way its always been done” – just answer the questions.

Dekalb County is imploding. It is now the laughing stock of the Metro Atlanta Area. We’ve already had two negative articles published about Dekalb County this week in the AJC and it’s only Tuesday!! This school board is dysfunctional and isn’t doing very much for kids. It is way past time for the State to step in and take charge of the school system and the County Government in Dekalb County and clean it up and clean it out. This stuff has been going on for at least 15 years and it’s just time for it to end. The problems are not with our teachers, police officers, firefighters, sanitation workers, or anyone on the front line. The problems in Dekalb County are at the very top – at the County Commission and at the school board. These people will never allow anyone to look into their records or what they are doing now. Dekalb County governance and school board governance have become an embarrassment to our residents, they are destroying any changes we have for economic growth, and they have caused deep-seeded division in our communities. Because of their behavior, the issues in Dekalb County are now threatening the economic growth of the Atlanta area and, because this is one-half of Georgia, the entire State.

I’m a DeKalb county teacher of 15 years and am completely fine with the fingerprinting and background check once every five years. I have nothing to hide;). I do however believe that they require it to be done through their public safety office on Memorial Drive is a bit inconvenient for those who commute long distances and may only work in north or south Dekalb. I would think they could offer multiple options for background checks for sure as long as they are legit (national or state) and not a shady online service.

And yes, I do recognize the issues in watching board meetings with certain members being clearly unprofessional and pointed toward others. I’d like to see more civility there, but also feel the need to fix the system and serve the children and teachers only should take precedence over any need to take on the background policy (or in this case non-policy). Still waiting on that vote for teacher pay raises and 65% in the classrooms… The two most important steps in my eyes for moving dekalb forward and being competitive for quality educators. Make it happen BOE.

Below is board policy and state law on fingerprinting and background checks. I should publish a FAQ on this subject.

DCSD Board policy on background checks is GAK(1). It states:
“For initial hiring purposes, personnel employed by the District shall be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check as required by O.C.G.A. § 20-2-211.1(c)…… Criminal background check information shall be used by the District only for the purpose of determining whether to grant regular employment or to terminate such employment with the District.”

O.C.G.A. § 20-2-211.1(c) states:
“(c) A local unit of administration shall ensure that all noneducator personnel employed by such local unit of administration after January 1, 2011, shall be fingerprinted and have a criminal record check performed. The local unit of administration shall have the authority to employ such person for a maximum of 20 days in order to allow for the receipt of the results of the criminal record check. The local unit of administration shall adopt policies to provide for the subsequent criminal record checks of noneducator personnel continued in employment in the local unit of administration.”

That’s pretty straightforward Stan. A young person we know had to provide a background check for a job at a private school after being hired. It was acquired from the local police department – you had to provide your own certified background check. It covered all reports in the criminal database (which were none in this case). It was satisfactory for the private school. It cost the young person around $25.

If the Dunwoody and DeKalb police along with the GBI don’t satisfy the school district, then are they saying they don’t have trust in our local and state police and crime labs? The news reporter kept referring to the “DeKalb Schools Police Chief” – do we really have a school district police chief? We do have a ‘Director of Public Safety’ in DeKalb Schools. Currently, the website lists Donald Smith as the interim director. The 2014 Salary Report at says >>

The Opportunity School District has passed. The constitutional amendment to create new school districts is necessary to start this district. does it now allow for individual cities to create school systems?